Music

September 17, 2014

Among the amazing documents that have floated my way over the years was a manilla folder full of gorgeous black and white photographs my father took in the Ivory Coast (well..they were developed there and some of them might have been also taken in Senegal, Mali, or Guinea). Among my mother's papers that I received after her death was a carefully cached collection of letters that my parents had written to each other during fall 1963 to spring of 1964, when they were both abroad on Ford and Fulbright grants-- he to numerous countries in West Africa and she to India, Bhutan, and Sikkim.

The letters are very interesting, and cringe worthy in places. One third love letters (with some surprising revelations about their sex life I could have survived never knowing about), one third about money (there was never enough and what there was always came late allowing for some desperate nail biting) and one third talking about the research and the separate lives they were having on their different continents.

As I read through the research parts of my Dad's letters, I learned a lot about these photographs--especially that he had done many field recordings of musicians, griots, and small village brass bands. He had made friends with many African writers at the very start of their careers as authors in 1963, he had met and become friends with Leopold Senghor, President of Senegal, and other writers and poets turned diplomats -- who also gave him music tapes and recordings (especially the radio stations eager to get their music out to the West as well as Africa.). He sent 25 or so tapes back to the states with friend and ethno-musicologist Robert Garfias who returned them to the Ethnomusicology Archives at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

I went looking for the tapes in the archives -- as this was the first I knew that they had been properly given over to someone. I was so excited to find them listed here and here. So I will be sending scans of all the photos (plus more of the notes I discovered in his letters) to the archive there -- delighted that future students will have a chance to see these images and connect them to the music on the tapes. In many ways, the best part of finding all these papers is being able to share the really great parts of their careers with others -- to share those moments in history where they saw something, heard something, or wrote something that still matters.

August 22, 2014

I was so very sad to learn that Scottish folksinger Jean Redpath has died, August 21, 2014 -- here in Arizona at a hospice. She was easily the most powerful voice of my childhood -- and her album "Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" with its achingly beautiful traditional Scottish songs, and her gorgeous voice, slow and unhurried, mostly accapella completely captivated me. I think I wore down the grooves on the record, playing and replaying songs that I still sing today when I am tasked at work, driving, or just on my own. Here are two of my favorite songs from the first album:

"Rue" -- the cautionary song of man's feckless love.

"Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" -- the title song of her first album and so embedded in my ear that I sing it often to myself, half under my breath but always imagining that brief, poignant encounter on the hills between the nobleman and the country girl.

It is so worth getting her other albums again -- for her renditions of the child ballads and traditional Scottish songs are the best -- just that amazing voice. This album (Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" doesn't seem to be available any more, but Amazon does carry "The Song of the Seals" which simply gorgeous, along with "Frae My Aine Countrie" --also fabulous.

June 03, 2014

Check out this awesome band -- no for reals. this guys are awesome. Can't sit still listening to them. Four brothers, originally from South Africa and now living in Arizona. Really...how cool is that. A mix of folk roots, Burundi drummers, Led Zeplin and the occasional Beatles. Just try and sit still...

February 14, 2014

Need to thank Latasha Lee and the Black Ties for being so amazing and letting me share how I feel about that husband of mine. Two favorites: "Pledging My Love" and "Stand By Your Man." Perfect for this Valentines. Turn them up loud and sing along.

August 18, 2013

Chris Thile is probably one of the most notable mandolin players out there with an ability to play anything, any style of music with verve and authority on his instrument -- whether it is blues, folk, country, traditional Celtic reels, jazz improvisation -- or more recently a gorgeous new collection of The Bach Partitas and Sonatas. He was featured on Sound Check "Chris Thile Bach on Mandolin" and oh how wonderful to hear the entire interview and musical interludes. Here's one of my favorites -- Thile who is known to play with incredible speed and fluidity, going slow and deliberately through Bach's "Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, Sicilianna."

December 05, 2012

Dave Brubeck has died at age 91, just one day short of his 92th birthday. I so remember this music as a child -- always in the background of my parents' late night dinner parties. It has the flavor of gauloise (they all smoked back then), food generously seasoned with garlic, and the alcohol fumes from many glasses of wine and scotch. And lots of talk...occasionally falling silent during a particularly good passage. The Chicago Tribune has a nice article on Brubeck, his life and his music. Here are my two favorites: the sultry "Koto Song" and the rambunctious "Take Five."

Midori Snyder

Midori Snyder is the author of nine novels for children and adults. She won the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati, a novel inspired by early Roman myth and the Italian "Commedia dell'Arte" tradition. more>>

On the Shelf

Marly Youmans: Glimmerglass: A NovelA luminous mystery story of family secrets and the transcendent power of art. Youmans' writing is poetic, and the Clive Hicks Jenkins illustrations and cover superb.